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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26842021">when the autumn leaves fall</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/komhmagnus/pseuds/banesapothecary'>banesapothecary (komhmagnus)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Schitt's Creek</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Get it - because candy, Halloween, Happy, In this house we respect little debbie pumpkin delights, M/M, Married Life, Post-Canon, They're just so soft okay, Tooth-Rotting Fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 13:01:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,465</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26842021</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/komhmagnus/pseuds/banesapothecary</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Well, I draw the line at touching pumpkin guts, so."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Patrick Brewer/David Rose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>100</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>when the autumn leaves fall</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I started thinking about David and Patrick celebrating Halloween and somehow we got here.</p>
<p>Title is from Apollo by Noah Reid</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Halloween was David’s favorite holiday, though most people never seemed to understand why. David never bothered to explain it most of the time, but Patrick was one of the few people he didn’t need to explain it to—if not the </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> person. Patrick just understood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe it was that Patrick had heard enough stories from David’s time in New York, his relationships and the way he was treated, that it just clicked into place for him. Maybe he just really, truly saw David so much that he would’ve seen it without those stories. Whatever it was, the first time they’d celebrated Halloween together and David expressed his excitement, Patrick simply kissed his cheek and gave him a supportive grin that mirrored his glee over the holiday.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Halloween didn’t mean the same thing it had once meant; it didn’t need to anymore. In New York, Halloween was a night to be someone </span>
  <em>
    <span>other.</span>
  </em>
  <span> To escape himself and all the expectations. He could go to a party and be completely anonymous in his costume, if he wanted, and most of time, he did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>David knew he didn’t need to hide anymore, though. He knew it </span>
  <em>
    <span>because </span>
  </em>
  <span>Patrick saw him, because Patrick loved him, but he knew it for other reasons, too. He’d found his place, finally, where he belonged, where he was loved, where he’d made a happy life for himself with the people he truly cared about. He didn’t need to be someone else anymore, not on Halloween and not any other day of the year, either. Here, in Schitt’s Creek, he was loved for who he was, unconditionally.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But that didn’t mean the holiday didn’t still have a very special place in his heart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It had been almost two months since they’d been married, and while it certainly wasn’t their first Halloween together, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> their first Halloween as a married couple and in their new home. The motel had never attracted much of a crowd of trick-or-treaters, and Patrick’s apartment building had only had one or two kids who lived in the building. This was the first Halloween since the Roses had lost everything and been forced to move that David could truly, authentically celebrate the holiday.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And celebrate, he intended to do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure you don’t want help decorating?” Patrick asked for the thousandth time that morning as he pressed a pleasantly warm cup of coffee into David’s hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>David smiled and shook his head in exasperation as he inhaled the sweet smell of caramel and cocoa. “I make the creative decisions, remember?” He leaned forward to give his husband a quick kiss and pushed him toward the door, gentle but firm. “You go handle the store, I will turn the house into a fall haven.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Patrick frowned, but he kissed David again. “If you’re sure—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am,” David said with a tinge of annoyance in his tone, but he was still grinning at Patrick. “And don’t forget the candy!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know,” Patrick said, walking backwards towards the car. “I wouldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> to go buy candy if you hadn’t already eaten the candy I bought </span>
  <em>
    <span>last </span>
  </em>
  <span>week.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mhm, love you, too,” David called before shutting their front door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Decorating should be an Olympic sport, David decided when he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally</span>
  </em>
  <span> finished. It was worth the sweat, though, as he stepped back to admire his work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In the flowerbed next to the porch, David had carefully planted a tombstone that read “R.I.P. Moira Rose” that Roland had ordered from </span>
  <em>
    <span>somewhere</span>
  </em>
  <span> as a joke after her “death.” The front porch itself was simple:  a few black wicker baskets with orange and yellow mums, fairy lights draped over the railings, and a witch-themed wreath from one of the store’s vendors. He’d been sure to leave room for jack-o-lanterns once those were done, too. He was saving that job for Patrick, knowing he loved the holiday, too, and would insist on doing </span>
  <em>
    <span>something.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inside, he’d stuck a little closer to his usual black and white aesthetic. At a craft fair he and Patrick had visited the weekend before, they’d found some painted ceramic pumpkins, and a few knit ones, as well, that he’d distributed throughout their home. On the little table by the entryway, he’d placed a few crow figurines left over from the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crows</span>
  </em>
  <span> premiere, along with a few of his favorite candles from the fall collection at the store.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d also bought a grey and white plaid blanket to drape over the couch, and quite a few black and white pillows that matched the pattern. He’d even gotten some of those cheesy pillows that said things like “Hello Fall” and “Happy Halloween” in a cursive script that he used to think were tacky, but now that David had his own home to put them in, he couldn’t resist. As soon as fall was over, though, he would vehemently deny owning such basic decorations.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Satisfied with his work, he sat heavily on the couch, content to spend the rest of the afternoon reading.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A few hours later, his phone buzzed with a text from Patrick.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>FROM: Patrick — Received 5:21 p.m.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>--Closed the store. OMW to buy candy.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>--Do we need anything else? Those pumpkin things you like?</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>TO: Patrick — Sent 5:21 p.m.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>--Yes, please</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>--They’re called Pumpkin Delights and we respect them in this house</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>FROM: Patrick — Received 5:23 p.m.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>--Of course, my apologies.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>David rolled his eyes and grinned, returning to his book until Patrick texted him again a little later to say he was on his way home.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He set the book aside, stretching as he stood. It was nearly 6, and he knew neither of them would be in the mood to cook tonight. David was tired from decorating, and he knew Patrick would be exhausted from running the store on his own all day. After a moment of self-debate, he called their favorite pizza place and placed their usual order for delivery.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A few moments later, David heard the front door open and went to greet his husband, smiling as Patrick set the Rose Apothecary tote they used as a grocery bag down so he could take off his jacket.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, David,” Patrick was saying, “this candy is for the trick-or-treaters only. You can eat whatever’s left over </span>
  <em>
    <span>after</span>
  </em>
  <span> Halloween.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mhm, yes, okay,” David said. “I’m so happy you’re home.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Patrick smiled. “Miss me that much?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was talking to Little Debbie, actually,” he said, pulling the box of Pumpkin Delights out of the bag. “But, yes,” David added, pressing a kiss to Patrick’s cheek.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Patrick’s arms slipped around his waist, holding him in place. “Missed you, too. The store is too quiet without you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know if that’s a compliment or if you’re implying I’m loud,” David said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Patrick’s eyes widened innocently. “Both,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>David rolled his eyes. “So,” he said, changing the subject. “What do you think?” He turned his gaze around the living room, looking back to watch his husband take in his work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It looks great, David,” Patrick said. He was smiling, but David could see the slightest hint of a frown in the set of his eyebrows.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>David smoothed a thumb across his brow and the line softened. “What is it?” he asked softly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Patrick shook his head. “It’s nothing. I just...I wish you’d let me help a little.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>David grinned. “Ah, see, that’s where you’re wrong.” He gestured around the room with a loose hand. “You think all this is finished already.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>David slid his hand down Patrick’s arm to take his hand, and silently led him out the back door that opened onto the deck. Two large pumpkins sat on a patch of newspaper where David had set them in the middle of the deck earlier that afternoon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Obviously, Halloween decorations aren’t complete without jack-o-lanterns,” David told him. “You’re more than welcome to help with those. Actually, I encourage it.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Patrick smiled at him, wide and brilliant as the fairy lights twinkling over the front porch and deck railings. “Thank you, David.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>David waved his thanks away with a grin. “Well, I draw the line at touching pumpkin guts, so,” he said. “Really, this is more selfish than anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, of course,” Patrick nodded, stepping closer into David’s space and kissing him. He pulled away with a breathy laugh when his stomach rumbled. “Come on,” he said, pulling David back towards the house. “I’m starving. Dinner first, then pumpkin guts.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You say the most romantic things,” David said as they stepped into the kitchen. “Pizza is already on the way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Patrick turned to grin up at him. “Have I told you you’re my favorite husband?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mm,” David hummed. “I better be, or you’re not getting any Pumpkin Delights for dessert.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are appreciated 🧡🖤<br/>Find me on Tumblr and Twitter @banesapothecary!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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